Scientology

There has been a lot of talk lately about Scientology. Most of that is probably to do with Tom Cruise talking nonstop about it. Then of course the media had to make it an even bigger story by talking nonstop about Tom Cruise talking nonstop about it. What I don’t get is what is the big deal? The teachings of Scientology are a little odd, but frankly aren’t all religions? I don’t want anyone to start bashing Scientology, but I seriously don’t get why people are freaked out by it. Tom Cruise most definitely shouldn’t have called out Brooke Shields by name, in my opinion, but if he is against something like mood altering drugs, I have no problem with him speaking out. (And I am on some.) Other religions don’t belive in blood transfusions and some don’t believe in partaking in modern medicine at all. I know they are secretive about things, but again, so are many other religions. Is this “freak out” just because this is a 20th C religion? A lot of people call it a cult. Why is that? Again, wouldn’t most religions be considered cults then? So, if any of you know why the media is making such a big deal about this, I would love to hear it.\
P.S.- Watch Veronica Mars on Wednesdays at 9pm on UPN.

By Kevin Lawver

Web developer, Software Engineer @ Gusto, Co-founder @ TechSAV, husband, father, aspiring social capitalist and troublemaker.

9 comments

  1. While I respect an individual’s right to choose to worship whatever and however they want, it’s hard to take any religion created by the author of “Battlefield Earth” seriously.
    (Also, you just had to get the Veronica Mars plug in there, didn’t you?) =)

  3. I appreciate the link and read the article. I have a cynical “buyer beware” attitude about it all. I feel bad for the people who go into debt to be part of the group. However many people go into debt looking for fulfillment- just look at QVC and HSN for many pathetic examples. Not that that makes it right for the Scientology church to take advantage of its members, if it indeed does. But many evangelical churches do that to its members too.
    I belong to a missionary church that teaches its members how to interact with nonmembers to gain their get them interest. So the salesman aspect of the church (outside of the draining the members of all of their money), purported by the article, doesn’t bother me. It just seems like another example of how it is like any other religion.
    I guess being a member of a controversial religion that has been persecuted in the past and continues to fight against mistaken impressions makes me more tolerant and understanding of the members of Scientology (moreso than the media). For the record, I don’t believe in it but I also don’t believe in the many other religions which surround me.

  4. I too, don’t much care if Tom Cruise spouts on about religion. Put another way, he prattle on about whatever topics he chooses. Where I start to have trouble is his intolerance for other viewpoints or methods of medication/alteration for medical (or other!) reasons. As you pointed out though, this too seems to be a hallmark of many religions… intolerance of what is not “like us”.

  5. i’m far more bothered by the fact that tom cruise is, apparently, a bit of a cradle robber, than i am about his public freakouts about things i really couldn’t care less about.
    but katie holmes is kind a kid, tho.
    like, when tom cruise was running around that house in his skivvies, lip-synching bob seeger in between visits with rebecca demornay, katie holmes was, what? four?
    -mkg

  6. His behavior is fishy from top to bottom, and the public has always tried to figure out why. Whether it’s the supposition that he’s secretly gay or his open admission to running scientology “information tents” on the sets of his films, there is a steady stream of questions and misinformation that keep the “real him” obfuscated from the public.
    This is interesting reading, and would explain a lot: http://www.jossip.com/gossip/tom-cruise/tom-cruise-is-gay-now-with-substantially-more-fake-evidence-20050629.php
    He is inviting the criticism, and is the most vocal and visible proponent of scientology out there. I work at a university with a scientology center right across the street, so yeah, I am inclined to believe it’s a cult.

  9. Salon recently ran a series of four articles that are worth reading. Also, if you can find it online, there is a text file of a book called A Piece of Blue Sky that is really interesting.

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